Space-closing supporting structure



1940- E. M. HUNNEBECK r 2,186,296

SPACE-CLOSING SUPPORTING STRUCTURE I V Filed oer. '5, 1957 Fatented Jan. 9,.l4d

SPACE-CLOSING s e ma srnnocr m-i "E utrontz numbe .nusaaomtmtny:

' Applicaticnbctoberis,.1937,-'Serial.No.167,905

- 1 In Germany September- 25; 1936 9 Claims. The present invention relates to. space-closing supporting structures forsheds-or the like and f'more particularly refers to structures consisting of hollow bodies of; sheet metal arranged side 7 byv side.

Heretofore various proposals have been made which involved the use of the space-closing elements of the roof in the dual capacity as spaceclosing elements and the like could be the weight.

However, with all of the known forms of con .struction, none of'them;;provided for the particular requirements which accompany the use,

of sheet metal, inparticulariron sheets. The

reasons for this may bethat-up tothe present of a' very lightweight sheet metal as space-clos-,.

ing supporting'structures for bridgingthe greatest spans. Y t

An object of my invention istd provide a space-closing supporting. structure adapted to bridge large or small spans, by making thesup-l porting structure take theform ofvaulted arches curved transversely to the direction ofthe support; These arches consistingof corrugated sheets forming a self-supporting armouring". The. sheets" are provided with b'racings in a'direction' transverse to the main supporting structure. A further feature of my invention is that the hollow bodies, consisting of corrugated sheet metal, are closed at the lower side by fire-check- The hollow.

ing and heat-isolating surfaces.

' bodies may .also bepolygonallyconstructed and bridge the spanin: substantially a straight direction instead of in the formof an arch, thus acting as beams or girders.

Another feature of my invention is to be found in the fact that between the individual juxtaposb tioned hollow bodies, cross channels are provided which-consist of sheetmetal of such a thickness,

a's to .assist';in determining the rigidity of. the form of supporting'structure' employed, and in I particular toprevent, lateral displacement of the hollow bodiesf Another feature of my invention lies in the fact that the ar'ch-shapedhollow bodies are mounted on the rods, connected to the center'of gravity of the bearings'or abutments.

Another-feature. e f-the invention lies in the supporting members. These proposals were all based on the ideathat with the above constructiomstruts, supports and done away with, thus reducing I @Fig 3. showsthe-m (Cl.. 108'-,1) Q 'iactthat' the space between the fire-checking. and heat-isolating surfaces'supported fromsthe hollow bodies are, according to my invention, provided with openings so that this space may he -ventilated and c'ontrolled.: p

Other. objects and advantages of my invention willappear from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawmg. Referring now to the drawing: i v 1 shows diagrammatically'the supporting structureaccorcling to my invention; I 1 ,Fig. 2 shows a detail section takenonthe line 2-'-2 of'Fig.-4; 1 Fig. 3 is 'a cross sectional detailrviewitakenion 'the line 3'7-"3 ofyFigQZ; 1:1 4 shows. in detail the lefthand 'sidex'of the supporting structure shown in -Fig'. l; i

Figs. 5 to8 are longitudinal'and cross sectional views respectively showing 'modifi'c'ations of "the supporting-metal-sheathing;

Fig. 9 shows a modification of Fig-1;;

Fig. 10 shows an additionalmodification ofzlthe. structureshown'in Figs. 1 and 9.

, Referring to Fig. -1, the'supportingstructure according to this, former myinvention takes the shape of a shallow vaulted arch, consisting-of "in-' dividual vaulted hollow bodies.arrone of -whichv is shown in cross section in Fig. 2.. .Atzthe ends; the arch-shaped hollow bodies areprovided with disc-like hearings or In the 'centeroi kthe end portion 0 a tie rod b is secured, whi'chtakes'i up; the tensile force. This is shown on a smaller scale in Fig.- 1. v. L

Referring-to Fig.2, the space-closing-sheets j, 35

' which form a self-supporting' 'armouring; are,

in the form of zigzag-like,"corrugations. The; purpose of the corrugations is, to save the-sup+ porting metal sheets from bending or;

To maintain the shape of thGhOIlOWybOdiGSjd, re P r r e at r determinedzfdis-.-.

tances from each other.-As may, be seen. from" Fig. 2 these bracings consist of latticeworlnfibut,

may, of course, be constructedin any other ;man-.

ner, for instance, a framework or evenia disc.

Thesebracings, however, are not to be;=.confused.

with ordinary-girders, forming the Supporting.

structure'proper, because in the construction-ac cording to the invention theibracings-"brdo not. at all serve as supporting structures; but as already indicated, only serve to warrant the shape or the hOHOW.bOdi6S-w accordingto thisjmodification of the'invention,"

er than that of any known construction.

Figs. 9 and have the advantage that damage to the local parts of the supporting structure do not cause a collapse of the entire supporting w sheets being corrugated in a transverse direction sheets f, the abutting edges :0 which extend transversally to thedirection of the span, are connected to each other. These sheets are mounted upon the upper flanges of a bent I-beam i and preferably welded thereto. This I-beam i simultaneously serves to connect the bracings p. A ceiling or covering e, consisting of fire-checking and heat-isolating material is suspended from the bracings. Above the ceiling e, a gangway k is provided, allowing one to inspect the interior of the hollow bodies and thereby control the condition of the sheets.

As is well-known, a serious drawback is encountered by employing the"'construction dis-' closed in the prior art, namely, that. moisture may condense at the metal partsfclosinga space,

which very soon leads to a corrosionoi the metal. f The heat isolating ceiling e of my invention,

prevents the difierence of temperature existing. between the atmosphere and the interior of the space, covered by the supporting structure, leads to a condensation of moisture at the inner surface of the sheets Asa further safeguard against condensation of moisture; openings (not shown) may be provided in. the-side walls-of the hollow bodies, so that air. may flow through these hollow bodies. In Fig. 1 the path of the air is indicated by arrows. The vertex of the hollow bodies carries a hood (2 through which air may escape.

The hollow body a',; shown in Fig. 9, has the shape of a steeper arch resting upon the support 0'. Of course, with this modification tie rodsb are not required.

Figure 10 shows a hollow body a! bridging the span in substantially a straight line and not in the form of an arch as disclosed in Figure 1. This hollow body a" acts asagirder and'does. not requirea tie rod 1). j v i 'Thesupporting structure according to the invention has many advantages. Spans" of 150 meters and more may be bridged and-the weight of the supporting structure is substantially smallmetal sheets ,7 not only have a great stability or rigidity, but also-form good'protecti'on against incendiary bombs, consequently the supporting structure according to the invention is particularly'well adapted for sheds'or halls accommodating aeroplanes.

A further advantage of the inventionconsists in the'fact, that the cover or ceiling e suspended from the supporting structure, protects the supporting structure against fire coming out from the interior of the roofed shed or hall.

The modified forms of my invention shown in structure.

Whatl claim is:

1. A space-closing supporting structure for buildings, comprising hollow bodies of sheet metal adapted to be supported on and extend'between abutments, said bodies consisting of shallow arches curved transversely to the direction of sup-' port, said arches being constructed of corrugated metal sheets forming a self supporting armouring and being provided with bracings extending transversely to the direction of 'suppo-rusaid metal to the direction of support. j

2. A space-closing supporting: structure The.

for buildings, comprising hollowbodies of corrugated 7k sheet metal .adaptedto be supported on and extend between abutments, said bodies being curved transversely to the main supporting direction forming a self supporting armouring, said bodies being provided with bracings extending transversely to the direction of support and bridge the span in a substantially straight direction, said metal sheets being corrugated in a transverse direction to the direction of support.

3. A space-closing supporting structure for buildings, comprising hollow bodies of sheet metal adapted to be supported on and extend between abutments, said bodies consisting of shallow arches curved transversely to the direction of support, said arches being constructed of corrugated metal sheets provided with bracings extending transversely to the direction of support and'covered at the lower side by fire checking and heat isolating surfaces, said metal sheets being corrugated in a transverse direction to the direction of support.

, 4. A space-closing supporting structure for buildings, comprising hollow bodies of corrugated sheet metal adapted to be supported on and extend between abutments, said bodies being curved transversely to the main supporting direction forming -a self supporting 'armouring, said metal sheets being corrugated in a transverse direction to the direction of support, said bodies being provided with bracings extending transversely to the direction of support'and bridge the span in a substantially straight direction, said'hollow bodies being covered at the bottom by fire checking and heat isolating surfaces. 7

5. A space-closing supporting structure for buildings, comprising juxapositioned hollow bodies connected by cross channels formed of sheet metal, said hollow bodies being provided with bracings extending transversely to the direction of support and said hollow bodies being adapted to be supported. on and extend between abutments, said bodies being corrugated in a transverse direction to the direction of support, said channel forming sheets being of such thickness that said sheets contribute in maintaining the shape of the supporting structure and prevent lateral displacement of said hollow bodies.

6. A space-closing supporting structure for buildings, comprising hollowbodies of sheet metal adapted to be supported on and extend between abutments, said bodies being provided with bracings extending transversely to the direction of support and consisting of shallow arches curved transversely to the direction of support, said arches being constructed of. corrugated metal sheets closed at the lower side by fire checking and heat isolating surfaces, said metal sheets bebeing provided with bracings extending trans? versely to the direction of support and bridge the span in a substantially straight direction, said metal sheets being corrugated in a transverse direction to the direction of support, the side walls of said bodies being provided with openings for connecting the space of the hollow bodies with the atmosphere;

8. A space-closing supportingstructure for building's, comprising hollow bodies olt' sheet metal adapted to be supported on and extend between abutments, tie rods mounted at the ends of said hollow bodies above the bearings mounted at the top of said abutments and formed as rigid discs, I

said bodies consisting'of shallowarches curved transversely to the direction of support, I said arches being constructed of corrugated metal sheets forming a self supporting armouring, and

buildings, comprising juxtapositioned hollow bod ies of corrugated sheetmetal connected by cross channels formed of sheet metal, said hollow bodies being provided with bracings extending transversely to the direction of support and said hollow bodies being adapted to be supported on and extend between abutments, said channel forming sheets being of such thickness that said sheets contribute in maintaining the shape of v the supporting structure and prevent lateral displacement of said hollow bodies, said metal sheets being corrugated in a transverse direction to the direction of support. I

EMIL MORITZ HfiNNEBECK. 

